Overview
- Two inmates, Michael Lewis Miles Jr. and Lishawn Knott, escaped the Vance County Detention Center and disappeared around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, prompting an urgent, ongoing manhunt.
- The FBI, U.S. Marshals, North Carolina SBI, the Vance County Sheriff’s Office and Henderson police are searching the area and urging the public not to approach the men.
- Investigators released surveillance video showing the men running through a jail hallway and have offered a combined reward of up to $40,000 for information leading to their capture.
- Records and staff accounts document repeated facility problems — broken or missing locks, defective doors, holes in walls and missed supervision rounds — and an April allegation against a jail supervisor has increased scrutiny of staffing and oversight.
- County leaders have long pushed for a new 300‑bed detention center now priced at more than $70 million, the board set aside $3.4 million in a capital reserve and officials say the escape will intensify debate over financing, staffing and community safety.